Saturday, August 9, 2008

Homemade Laundry Detergent

This recipe was shared with me by my sister. It can be used to make powered detergent or liquid detergent. I use the powder if I need it fast. Otherwise, with the liquid, you stretch your dollar even further!Ingredients1/3 of a bar of FelsNaptha or Ivory Soap grated1/2 cup of borax1/2 washing soda (not baking soda)

Directions for Powdered Laundry SoapChop up 1/3 bar of your soap. Using the mason jar- blender method, grate it finely. Combine finely grated soap with 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda. Mix well. Use 1 Tablespoon per load of laundry!Recipe for Liquid Laundry SoapChop 1/3 bar of your soap. Grate well and combine with 6 Cups of water in a non-reactive pot.Boil until grated soap is dissolved. Once soap is completely dissolved add 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda.Mix well. Allow to gently boil for approximately 15 minutes (it will have a slightly thicker consistency--like honey). In a separate bucket or larger lidded container, add 4 cups of hot water. Pour your boiled soap mixture in with the hot water. Add 5.5 Quarts (22 Cups) of cold water to the container, mixing it together well.

Put the lid on the container and allow to sit for 24 hours. The mix will get to a clumpy, gel-like consistency. This is normal.

I pour my homemade liquid laundry soap into the containers I had from store-bought liquid laundry soap. Give the bottle a shake and use 1/4 cup of your liquid soap per load of laundry. Enjoy fresh clean clothes at a penny or two per load!

The other day when I was at TrueValue I noticed that they had extra/replacement blender parts for sale. That would be great to have an extra one to use for mixing things like this and have another for your food.

I have been using this detergent about 3-4 months now and I love it! I use ivory in mine.